suzanne pratt, nbr, new york. >> susie: when it comes to new claims for jobless benefits, the effects of super storm sandy appear to be passing. new claims fell by 25,000 in the week ending december 1 to a lower than expected 370,000 requests. that's raising hopes about november's jobs data, which is due out tomorrow. grey, and christmas says u.s. employment firm challenger, grey, and christmas says u.s. companies announced 57,000 job cuts last month. separately, the number of planned job cuts rose 20% in november from october's levels. on wall street, the dow rose 39 points, but the nasdaq added 15, the s&p up nearly five. >> reporter: i'm erika miller in new york. coming up tonight, we'll talk to the c.e.o. of kitchen store sur la table and get his outlook for holiday sales. >> tom: lots of theatrics today, but few visible signs of progress in washington towards a fix for the fiscal cliff. the only hopeful sign is that republicans and democrats are talking privately again. but they haven't worked out any of the big issues, including what to do about the nation's debt limit. washingt